Learning fast and hard

When I  lamented the woes of drawn out building / decorating projects in my last post, I must have jinxed myself!
I had chosen the most divine charcoal plush pile carpet; Godfrey Hurst, 'Highbury Plush', colour: Flagstone. That was almost twelve months ago, BUT when I rang my local carpet supplier for a measure-up recently, to my absolute horror, found it has been discontinued!!!! My colour choices have hinged on this large floor area being definite for eons....back to the shop around, and those zillions of choices, again!
And, to add salt to the wound, a much loved decor piece has also been taken off the import list.

SO... if you see something you really, really LOVE, buy and store, just in case!
(By the way, Eclectic is my middle name! LOL!)
x KL

Small steps

After an emotional and torturous week full of family problems that of course took full priority, our ceilings in the new rooms are sanded and painted! Wall colours are next and decisions need to be made. Hubby likes Dulux paints so from their palette I've chosen Domino (a dark charcoal) as the hall colour, Red Box (Small features in son's bedroom; lovely, slightly dirty red), Natural White (a warm white) in varying strengths for ceilings, architraves and most other walls, and Silver Illusion (muted grey / taupe) for TV / Playroom walls.
We've been quite addicted in this household to the 'Grand Designs' programmes for a while now and at Christmas received some more of the series on DVD. We love the idea of the British 'Snug'. Our understanding of it is that it represents a small family TV area, possibly more easily heated. Hence our warmer colour choice for this room.

I hope we're on a winner here, as i am going for a sophisticated, grown up theme upstairs to contrast with a more relaxed, beachy feel downstairs. "It's only paint", I tell myself, easily re-done if a disaster! Now, choosing bathroom tiles is a bit more permanent! I am drawn to dark, perhaps black tiles and lots of mirror for the bathroom since it will be utilised as guest / evening entertaining powder room and boys ensuite too. Loving the contrast between dark and light tones in between rooms! 
Your comments and thoughts are all gratefully received! 

The Slow Start

I am married to a very busy builder and am in the enviable position of creating a new home for our family. Typically however, I 'pay' my husband far less (read zip!) compared to a client and so, working on our home is a low priority. Like many tradesman's families we live in the to-be-finished project!

I must say that this slow style of creation gives lots of time to sort out design and decoration dilemmas. It also gives rise to the problem of losing one's way to a cohesive conclusion. There are so many wonderful ideas, products and directions out there that by the end of 3-5 years, the decisions made at the start are no longer similar to those being made at the end! I guess this applies to many people who, through opportunity and budget constraints take extended time frames to redecorate or renovate their homes?
I am addicted to magazine and design sites including blogs and take much inspiration from others. Sometimes I search desperately to find 'my' idea in some concrete pictorial form before confidently putting a plan into action!

At the moment I am deciding colours for four semi-finished rooms.ie; Plastered! Kitchen. 8yo son's bedroom, playroom / TV area and guest powder room. These are some of my current inspirations. As you can see, I love both classic and contemporary styles and my heart changes allegiance frequently! At least my Taupe / Black / White / Silver colour scheme is a constant!
Hope you'll excuse the layout - I am learning as I go and still getting a grasp on the mechanics of 'blogging'! (Including referencing). Thank you to A.M (The House that AM built) and The Diversion Project Blogs for giving me the courage to try this. LOVE their blogs, pictures and personality!
x KL